Today’s Future of Travel blog looks at everything from the impact of cancelled cruises to a series of new suspensions by cruise companies and airlines. It seems things are getting better, but it’s going to be a while until we travel in any significant manner.
Cruise Cancellations Hit Canada
Holland America on Wednesday announced it has cancelled all its cruises for Canada/New England, Europe and Alaska for this year because of the COVID-19 crisis. It’s a blow for consumers who had plans to travel, of course. But there’s also a huge impact on the destinations.
Cities and countries around the world depend heavily on cruise ships to bolster their tourism numbers. That’s especially true in the summer in eastern Canada and in Vancouver, where cruise ships are a common sight. Many cruise ships depart to Alaska from Vancouver, so having HAL cancel their Alaska cruises is a blow.
It’s even bigger, I suspect, for smaller destinations in the Canadian Maritimes. HAL cruise ships Zaandam and Amsterdam each carry around 1,400 passengers and were scheduled to make, from what I can see, more than a dozen visits to Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown this summer, as well as Quebec City and Montreal. Those are all gone, which means those cities will miss out on a couple dozen days of having hundreds of passengers disembarking to spend money in gift shops and restaurants and bars.
According to the CBC, Princess Cruises said it was extending its pause of global operations through to the end of the summer season. Seabourn also announced the cancellation of its three visits to Charlottetown in September and October.
The announcements make the first currently scheduled cruise visit to Charlottetown the Norwegian Pearl on Sept. 5. Norwegian Cruises has not posted a news release to its site since March 23, the CBC said.
It’s a real shame, and there’s pretty much no way for those cities to make up the difference. I suspect Montreal, Vancouver and Quebec City will manage okay, as they’re major population centres for staycations or for trips from big cities such as Toronto. Halifax might manage, but I worry about folks in Sydney and Charlottetown, the historic and lovely capital of Prince Edward Island.
To see the damage done by COVID-19 is a terrible thing on so many levels. Obviously human life is far more important than travel and tourism, but many jobs in Canada (and around the world) depend on tourism, and losing cruise ships and air routes is going to make a bad situation even worse.
More Cruise Cancellations From AmaWaterways
An AmaWaterways ship in Europe.
The folks at AmaWaterways have extended their river cruise suspensions all the way through July 31 of this year.
AmaWaterways today announced an extended delay to the start of its 2020 sailing season. The official statement, delivered by AmaWaterways President and Co-founder Rudi Schreiner, is as follows:
“As this unprecedented situation continues to evolve, we remain attentive to the latest developments in order to adapt our operations to best safeguard the health and well-being of our guests and crew. Due to continued efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, we have made the decision to suspend river cruise operations through July 31, 2020, at this time. We are in the process of contacting all travel advisors who have clients affected by this new suspension date in order to provide them with options best suited to their clients’ needs.
“While current events have made this temporary suspension necessary, the rivers continue to flow, and we remain in a secure position to resume cruising, once we are confident that it is safe to travel again. Our ships and our teams are on standby anxiously waiting the day when we’re able to once again welcome guests onboard to experience the magic of an AmaWaterways river cruise,” he said.
Transat Cancels Through June
Transat had cancelled all its flights through May 31. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic still reaching its peak in some parts of the world, they have suspended all flights through the end of June.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are temporarily suspending our flights until June 30, 2020,” the airline said on its website. “If you were unable to travel due to the cancellation of your flight, you will receive a credit for future travel to be used within 24 months of your original return dates. You do not need to contact us to obtain this credit, it will be automatically applied to your account.”
Ugh. What a mess.
Air Canada Improves Aeroplan
Air Canada has introduced two new Aeroplan features in advance of the re-launch of its loyalty program later this year. Members can buy or gift miles at any time and can now use Aeroplan Miles to bid on cabin seating upgrades on Air Canada flights.
“Like all Canadians, we remain deeply concerned about these unprecedented times and the effects on our health and economy. Yet, we continue to plan for a time when we can safely welcome all customers back in the skies. Today, we are announcing two improvements – as part of our efforts to transform and relaunch Aeroplan later this year,” said Mark Nasr, Vice President, Loyalty and eCommerce at Air Canada. “The redesigned Aeroplan will make it easier to travel and offer an improved experience to all members—both frequent and infrequent travelers. We’re confident that everyone will see new features that speak directly to them and better suit their travel needs – once they are ready to travel again.”
Since announcing that it would launch a new loyalty program in 2020, Air Canada has connected with over 36,000 consumers to learn what attributes and benefits they want from a travel loyalty program. These new features directly reflect that feedback, allowing members to:
- Buy or Gift Aeroplan Miles at any time. Members can now purchase miles for themselves or give the gift of miles to other Aeroplan Members, at any time, through aeroplan.com. Previously, members could only purchase miles to top up their Aeroplan account when they were making a flight reward booking (which continues to be available). Members can also continue to transfer their miles to another member.
- Use Aeroplan Miles to submit offers for an AC Bid Upgrade. Members now have the option to use Aeroplan Miles when bidding for an upgrade to a higher cabin. Previously, customers could only bid for a cabin upgrade using a credit card at aircanada.com. This is the first of what will be many new ways for members to access popular extras and premium travel features to make their trip stress-free and more comfortable.
Delta Sanitizing Every Flight
As of this week, Delta is sanitizing every flight at every Delta airport using electrostatic sprayers, an important achievement on our quest to raise the standards for airline cleanliness.
Delta began using electrostatic sprayers to sanitize aircraft cabins on U.S.-bound flights from Asia in February. Since then, the airline has been aggressively expanding this pre-cleaning procedure to flights across the world.
“Providing a clean and healthy flying experience goes beyond meeting customer expectations, it’s part of our commitment to safety,” said Eric Phillips, Senior Vice President – Airport Customer Service and Cargo. “Our customers can fly with confidence knowing that, on every Delta flight, the cabin has been sanitized top to bottom, interior surfaces and common areas have been thoroughly cleaned and Delta team members have confirmed the aircraft meets our cleanliness standards before boarding ever begins.”
Electrostatic spraying provides a safe and effective way to thoroughly clean an aircraft cabin from floor to ceiling, sanitizing areas that employees and customers frequently touch. These sprayers electrically charge and disperse liquid disinfectant in a fine mist that clings to surfaces such as seats, seatback screens, armrests, tray tables, doors, lavatories and galleys throughout the aircraft interior. This high-grade disinfectant is highly effective against many communicable diseases, including coronaviruses, and is immediately safe for customers and crew after it’s applied. Following the sanitization process, cleaning crews complete an extensive checklist of cleaning procedures using this same high-grade disinfectant to wipe down personal and common areas of the cabin.
Delta is also sanitizing Reservation Centers, employee work and break areas in airports, pilot and flight attendant lounges, and office spaces using this same procedure. From expanded cleaning processes throughout the operation to making more space for safer travel both on and off the aircraft, Delta continues to implement safety enhancements for customers and employees.
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